1. SPORTS STREAMING SEPARATION

A judge has blocked a new sports streaming service called Venu Sports from launching. ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery planned this service, and it would have offered sports content from many of their channels. The judge ruled that the plan might break antitrust laws, which protect competition and prevent unfair practices. FuboTV, which competes in sports streaming, argued that the new service could harm both them and consumers by limiting choices and increasing costs. The companies behind Venu Sports plan to appeal the decision. The launch of the service, originally set for this fall, is now delayed. Research what antitrust laws are and why we have them. Then, write a paragraph that summarizes what you learned and how that applies to this streaming service idea.

2. MEDAL MAYHEM

Romanian gymnast Ana B?rbosu recently received the bronze medal for the women’s floor exercise at the Paris Olympics after a controversy where the medal was first awarded to U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles. Chiles had originally been given the bronze after a scoring appeal, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) later ruled that the appeal was filed four seconds too late, leading to the medal being taken back from Chiles and given to B?rbosu. Jordan Chiles expressed her disappointment, calling the decision unfair and hurtful, especially after facing online attacks. She stated that she poured her heart into the sport and was proud to represent her culture and country. Despite the ruling, she remains hopeful that justice will be done. Many of Chiles’ teammates, including Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee, showed their support, expressing that the decision was unfair and that Chiles remains an Olympic champion in their eyes. The U.S. Olympic Committee also plans to appeal the decision, arguing that critical errors were made during the process. The official Olympic records now list B?rbosu as the bronze medal winner, but the situation has sparked a lot of debate about fairness and the impact on athletes. If you were able to interview Chiles and/or B?rbosu for a television segment or podcast, what would you ask them? Write a list of questions and a paragraph about the kind of conversation you would want to have with them.

3. JUDGE IN TROUBLE

A Detroit judge, Kenneth King, has been removed from his duties temporarily after making a 15-year-old girl wear jail clothes and handcuffs during a field trip to his courtroom. The girl, Eva Goodman, had fallen asleep during the visit, which upset the judge. He said he wanted to make the experience "real" for her, even though he wasn't actually going to send her to jail. Eva’s mother, Latoreya Till, said her daughter felt scared and hurt by the judge’s actions. She explained that Eva was tired because their family doesn’t have a permanent home, and they had a late night before the court visit. The chief judge of the court, William McConico, said that Judge King’s actions didn’t reflect the court’s commitment to respect and justice. King will receive training to address the issues that led to this incident, but he will continue to be paid during this time. The nonprofit that organized the visit, The Greening of Detroit, criticized King’s methods, saying that the students should have been asked to leave if the judge thought they were being disrespectful, rather than being treated harshly. Considering what you know about the situation, write an opinion article about whether you think what the judge did was fair or harmful to Eva. If you think his actions were harmful, include what you think he could have done instead to get his point across without acting harshly toward the teen.

4. MILITARY PRESENCE

Members of Congress are urging top Pentagon leaders to keep the military out of politics and ensure it isn’t used for domestic law enforcement during the upcoming presidential election. The push comes after concerns about the military being involved in political disputes, especially given past events like the January 6 Capitol riot and former President Trump’s claims of election fraud. In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. CQ Brown, Congress members Elissa Slotkin and Mikie Sherrill asked them to affirm that U.S. law prevents using the military for civilian law enforcement and to resist any unlawful orders. They highlighted fears about proposals in Project 2025, a conservative plan that includes controversial ideas like restructuring federal agencies. The lawmakers are seeking reassurance that the military will remain neutral and not become involved in political conflicts or domestic policing, reflecting similar concerns raised before the 2020 election. What laws or regulations are in place in the United States to keep the military separate from civilian law enforcement? Research this topic and write a paragraph summarizing your findings and another paragraph explaining how the current political climate is challenging that status quo.

5. DIGITAL HARASSMENT

A recent report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that women politicians face a lot of toxic comments on Instagram. The researchers analyzed over 421,000 comments directed at women politicians and discovered that about 1 in 25 comments were likely to be "toxic." Toxic comments are defined as those that are rude, disrespectful, or likely to make someone leave a discussion. Even though Instagram has rules against abusive language, the platform often fails to remove or hide harmful comments. The researchers tested this by reporting 1,000 abusive comments but found that Instagram didn’t take action on 93% of them. This lack of enforcement makes some users feel they can get away with sending abusive messages to women politicians. The report highlights the need for better enforcement of social media guidelines to ensure that women and other minorities can fully participate in public conversations without facing harassment. Read more from the full report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Then, write a story that draws your own conclusions from the report and how the current online climate affects women in politics.